By 1971 Innes must have felt that Sir John Appleby was getting rather long in the tooth for excursions around the countryside. Enter his son Bobby, or Appleby Lite. This is, I believe, his second outing, and this time he has most of the book to himself. As a thriller hero Bobby is disappointingly conventional -- a Rugger Blue for England and an up-and-coming novelist -- and there is little of interest in the way he deals with a disappearing body on a golf course and the implausibly attractive young lady implicated in its disposal. Sir John himself makes a welcome reappearance in conversation with the bucolic Hoobins, but his participation goes nowhere; in fact throughout the book I found myself looking for plot twists that didn't occur. Both thriller fans and mystery enthusiasts will probably find this a disappointing hybrid.
Incidentally, did Bobby have an infancy? Or did he spring like Athene, full-blown from the head of Innes? And what of his (elder?) brothers, the existence of whom is mentioned here? Obviously the Applebys are genteel and wealthy enough to raise their children by remote control, but are there any prior books in the John Appleby saga which allude to his being a father?
Jon.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
